Checkatrade vs Google Ads for Roofing Leads: An Honest Comparison

The Two Most Common Paid Lead Sources for UK Roofers

Ask any UK roofing contractor where their paid leads come from, and two names come up more than any other: Checkatrade and Google Ads. Both can deliver genuine enquiries from homeowners who need roofing work. But they work in fundamentally different ways, serve different types of customers, and deliver very different results depending on your business size, location, and growth goals.

This is an honest, numbers-based comparison. Not a sales pitch for either platform — a genuine assessment of what each delivers for a typical UK roofing contractor in 2026.

How Checkatrade Works for Roofers

Checkatrade is a UK trade directory where homeowners search for vetted, reviewed tradespeople. As a roofing contractor on Checkatrade, you pay a monthly membership fee (typically £700–£1,200 per year for roofing) to be listed in their directory. Homeowners can find you through Checkatrade's search, request quotes, and leave reviews on your profile. Checkatrade also vets member businesses through background checks and qualifications verification, lending additional trust to listed contractors.

The key dynamic with Checkatrade: when a homeowner submits a roofing enquiry, it is typically shared with multiple contractors simultaneously. You are competing for that job from the moment the lead is created.

How Google Ads Works for Roofers

Google Ads places your roofing business at the very top of Google search results when someone in your target area searches for roofing services. You pay per click — only when someone clicks your ad. The customer then visits your website (or calls via the ad) and decides whether to enquire based on what they see. You control the messaging, the targeting, the landing page, and the follow-up entirely. There is no shared lead dynamic — anyone who clicks your ad is enquiring exclusively with you.

Cost Per Lead: The Numbers

Estimating the true cost per lead from each platform requires factoring in all costs and realistic conversion rates.

Checkatrade Cost Per Lead

A Checkatrade membership at £900/year means you need to win enough jobs to justify that spend before counting a profit. If the platform generates 40 enquiries per year and you convert 30% into jobs (a reasonable estimate given the shared nature of leads), that is 12 jobs at a cost of £75 per lead and £75 per booked job from membership cost alone. However, Checkatrade cannot easily scale — you cannot spend more to get more leads from the directory.

Google Ads Cost Per Lead

Google Ads costs vary significantly by location and competition. In a medium-sized UK city, roofing keywords typically cost £3–£8 per click. With a well-optimised landing page converting at 8–12%, a cost per lead of £40–£80 is achievable. In highly competitive cities like London, cost per lead can reach £100–£150. The crucial difference: Google Ads scales directly with budget. Double your spend and you broadly double your lead volume.

Lead Quality Comparison

Checkatrade leads tend to be from more cautious, value-conscious homeowners who are specifically seeking a vetted, reviewed tradesperson. They are often comparing multiple quotes. Google Ads leads span the full range — from emergency customers who will hire the first available roofer to proactive homeowners comparing several options. Neither is inherently better, but they require different sales approaches.

One significant quality advantage of Google Ads: because you control the landing page and messaging, you can pre-qualify leads before they enquire. A landing page that clearly states your typical project value and geographic coverage will filter out enquiries that are not a good fit — saving time for both parties.

Control and Dependency

This is perhaps the most important difference between the two channels. With Google Ads, you have complete control: over your messaging, your targeting, your landing pages, and your budget. If Google changes something about the ad platform, you adapt. If Checkatrade changes its algorithm, its pricing, or its market position — as it has done multiple times — your lead flow can change dramatically overnight.

Building your business on a foundation of Checkatrade dependency means your revenue is tied to the decisions of a third-party platform. Building it on your own Google Ads account and your own website means you own the asset entirely.

Which Is Better? The Honest Answer

For a new roofing business with no digital presence and an immediate need for leads: Checkatrade provides a quick, low-barrier route to enquiries and builds a review base. It is a reasonable starting point.

For an established roofing business looking to grow: Google Ads delivers a superior cost per lead in most markets, offers complete control and scalability, and does not share your leads with competitors. Combined with strong local SEO, it builds a lead generation engine that Checkatrade membership simply cannot match.

The ideal long-term strategy for most UK roofing contractors is to use Checkatrade for trust signalling (maintaining a strong profile and review base) while driving the majority of direct lead volume through Google Ads and local SEO — channels you own and control entirely.

The Platform You Should Actually Be Prioritising

Here is the question both Checkatrade and Google Ads avoid asking: what would happen if you invested the same effort and budget into ranking your own website at the top of Google Maps? The leads generated through strong local SEO rankings are exclusive, cost nothing per click, and compound indefinitely. Before committing long-term budget to either paid channel, ask whether that investment could be better deployed building the organic visibility that generates free leads permanently.